CHALLENGE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Deeply and primarily concerned with Communist influence and American policy in the Middle East, the author has been acquainted thoroughly and extensively for nearly ten years with the area, its developments and its relations with this country. Setting down certain conclusions about American policies, drawn from personal contacts and observations, he considers the central problem to be ""the safeguarding of legitimate American interests against the steady pressure of Communist infiltration"". It is a novel and significant aspect of American observation in the Middle East that Mr. Ellis believes (and explains why) that Arab leaders, particularly Gamal Abdul Nasser are ""far more deeply concerned about the dangers of Communist influence than is realized by many in the West"". His thesis illustrated in detail is that the national interests of the United States and the Middle Eastern countries are compatible, whereas those of the latter and the Soviet bloc are not. But he underscores the importance of conscious and more perceptively long-range governmental policy on the part of America. The book is the pondered and lucid result of discussions with prominent Middle Easterners, American and European diplomats, and firsthand acquaintance with the Arabs as a whole. Its one bias is that of an American observer looking at the area primarily from the standpoint of the interests of the United States. An excellent book which demands the attention of every politically conscious and concerned American citizen.